THE ROOM OF SUBLIME WALLPAPER: APF LAB
Press Release
ART PRODUCTION FUND presents The Room of Sublime Wallpaper (II)
ARTISTS: ELLEN HARVEY
LOCATION: APF LAB, 15 Wooster Street, New York City
DATE: January 16 – February 20, 2010
APF LAB is pleased to present The Room of Sublime Wallpaper (II), an installation by Ellen Harvey. Looking into LAB, the viewer sees a room wallpapered in newspaper containing a salon-style hanging of glowing landscape paintings that seem to move as the viewer approaches them. It is only upon entering the room that it becomes apparent that the “paintings” are in fact angled mirrors reflecting the hidden painted walls of the room and the illusion is shattered by the intrusion of the viewerʼs reflection. The most luxurious (hand-painted) and the poorest (newspaper) forms of wallpaper are juxtaposed much as the escapist fantasy of artʼs reach for the sublime is disrupted by the alternately dire and ridiculous “news” of our time.
Ellen Harvey was born in the United Kingdom and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She has exhibited extensively in the U.S. and internationally and was most recently included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial. Recent solo exhibitions include Empty Collections at Meessen de Clercq Gallery, Brussels, Belgium, Ruins are More Beautiful at the Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland, Private Collections at Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, The Museum of Failure at Luxe Gallery, New York, Beautiful/Ugly at Magnus Müller in Berlin and Bad Mirror at Galerie Gebruder Lehmann in Dresden, Mirror at the Pennsylvania Academy and A Whitney for the Whitney at Philip Morris at the Whitney Museum at Altria. She took part in the Whitney Independent Study Program and the PS1 Studio Program. Recent awards include a Pennies from Heaven Grant, a Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative Grant, a Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant and a Palm Beach County Cultural Council Grant and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. She has completed projects for both the New York and Chicago Transit Authorities, most recently including a mosaic for the new Metro-North Yankee Stadium Station. The New York Beautification Project was published by Gregory Miller & Co. in 2005 and Ellen Harvey: Mirror was published by the Pennsylvania Academy in 2006.
Art Production Fund is a non profit organization dedicated to facilitating ambitious projects by contemporary artists, reaching new audiences and expanding public participation and understanding of contemporary art. Past Projects include: SHOW, Vanessa Beecroft, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1998; PLAN B, Rudolf Stingel summer 2004, Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall and The Walker Art Center; Prada Marfa, Elmgreen & Dragset, Valentine, TX, 2005, permanent; Greeting Card, Aaron Young, Park Avenue Armory, 2007; Electric Fountain, Noble & Webster, Rockefeller Plaza, 2008; The Whitney Biennial, Park Avenue Armory, 2008; Members Only, Kalup Linzy, 2008; Scribble, Karl Haendel, 2009; Kalup Linzy, Kembra Pfahler, Haim Steinbach, Proenza Schouler for Pitti W, Florence, Italy 2009. Co-Founders: Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen. Director: Casey Fremont.
Soho Mews Developed by United American Land and designed by renowned architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, Soho Mews comprises two condo buildings; one with an entrance on West Broadway and the second which fronts Wooster Street. They are connected by a 4,000 sq.-ft. garden designed by the award-winning Peter Walker & Partners Landscape Architecture, which was recently honored with the winning design for the World Trade Center Memorial, among other accolades. The property features 59 lofts, 5 spacious townhouses and 4 wrap-around penthouses, all with 10-foot ceilings. The buildingʼs ample amenities include concierge service provided by Luxury Attaché, in-building art information advisory service by Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remenʼs Art Production Fund, special shopping privileges, updates and other perks from Fort Street Studio and Moss, as well as a state-of- the-art fitness center and 24-hour doorman and porter service.
Special thanks to Soho Mews for generously donating the space to Art Production Fund. For more information please contact Casey Fremont: casey@artproductionfund.org or 212 966 0193
